I like what you said about cresting the hill. I think my sober journey was on a slight incline for a while and then went very steep and difficult during my vacation at my dad's house (where cocktail hour starts at 3pm and continues until bedtime). I feel like I learned so much during that week about myself - my relationship with my dad, the power of my associations with alcohol on my emotions, and most importantly, my power to handle any situation without alcohol. Since I returned home, I feel like I am running downhill and it feels so good!
That also reminds me - the day after I returned home, I had a race, aptly named "The Dreaded Druid Hills." It's up a hill, down the back, up another, etc. Pretty quickly you realize that no matter how hard the uphill is, it will be followed by a downhill so you can push through. Really nice metaphor for sobriety.